Conveying mechanism for wrapping machines



Oct. 8, 1935. M. J. MILMOE.

CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR;

Dy @m; ATTORNEYS M H I H Original Filed Ma rch 13, 1926 Oct. 8, 1935. M.J. MILMOE CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR WRAP PING' MACHINES Original Fi ledMarch 13, 1926 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 8, 1935. v M. J. MILMOE 2,016,820

CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Original Filed March 13, 19267 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

m m g; WAY/Q 71AM I; W WWI,

A TTORNEYS.

Oct. 8, 1935. I M. J. MILMOE 1 CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINESOriginal Filed March 13, 1926 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 w. 74. WW.

Arm/ways Oct. 8, 1935. M. J. MILMOE CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR WRAPPINGMACHINES Original Filed March 15, 1926 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 I L'l H IINVENTOR. MM} 'ndw,

GEM 774. M A TTORNEYS.

Oct. 8, 1935. M, J. MlLMO E- CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINESOriginal Filed March 15. 1926 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 N m N m 171 U 53 m #1 Q ma 1, f a 5 H {D n 0 Q 2 019 00 Li Q N n '2: w 1 O o N 1 N E H w 4 (o 1 I6 Q Q 9 2- IN VEN TOR ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 8, 1935. M. J. MILMOE 2,016,320

v CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Original Filed March 15,1926 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR.

By 06M W M I A TTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 8, 1935' r HINES Michael J. Milmoe, Chicago, Ill.,assignor to F. B.

Redington 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Originalapplication March 13, 1926, Serial No. 94,438. Divided and thisapplication January 17, 1931, Serial No. 509,305

49 Claims.

This invention relates to wrapping machines and particularly to theconveying mechanism for conveying a series of articles to be wrapped, inline along a predetermined path. The conveying mechanismalso includesmeans for movingsections ofthat line of articles onto av wrapper whichis to be wrapped about the articles.

This application is a division of 'my application Serial No. 94,438,filed March 13, 1926, now

Patent No. 1,818,496 for a Packaging machine.

' One of the objects" of this invention is to con-.-

vey a series of articles arranged in line with each other along apredetermined path and at various rates of speed and for the purposeswhich will be more clearly, set forth in the specification.

Another object-of this invention relates to the feature of having thearticles carried by a plurality of conveyers onto the wrapper which isto be wrapped about the articles. A further object of this invention isto provide means for removing articles from the line of articles whenthe same are not in the desired relation with respect to each other. Inthe embodiment shown in the drawings, the articles are arranged inoverlapping relation and'in the event some article does not overlap theone next toit, that article will be ejected. I

Other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter as thedescription proceeds, the 3 novel features and combinations being setforth in the accompanying claims.

In the drawings I Fig. 1 represents an elevational view of a part of theconveying mechanism embodying my invention, parts-of the mechanism beingbroken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a plan-view of the conveying mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 isfa section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows an elevational view of aportion of the conveying mechanismto the right oi that shown in Fig.1, some of the parts shown at theextreme right in Fig. 1, being also shown at the left in Fig. 4;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the conveying mecha-' nism shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4 and lookingfromv the right in that figure;

; Figs. 7 and 8 show the mechanism for elevating a section of the lineoi articles delivered by the conveyers shown in Figs. -1- to 6inclusive, to

55 the rotating turret of the mechanism shown in the drawings,- Figs. '7and 8 showing the parts in different positions of operation;

Fig. 9 shows a portion of the mechanism illus trated in-Fig. 7, theparts being shown in .a different position than illustrated in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a rear elevational view of themechanism shown in Fig. 7, theparts occupying the same position as illustrated in Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a section taken substantially along the line Illl of Fig. 7;r Fig. 12 is a plan view of the mechanism for rotating the turrent shownin Figs. 4 and 5;

. Fig. 13 is an end elevational view of the means for removing thearticles from the turret which transfers the articles from the endlessconveyers to a position above the wrappers, some of the parts beingshown in section for the sake of clearnes's; and

Fig. 14 is an enlarged view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig.13 with the parts thereofin a slightly 'difierent position ofadjustment.

In my application Serial No. 94,438 previously referred to, I havedescribed an apparatus for wrapping articles in an air tight package, asit is quite obvious that articles wrapped in this manner are betterprotected from heat and moisture than articles which will permit theentrance of air or moisture. The invention in that application islimited to the means or wrapping the articles, and not particularly tothe conveying mechanism which conveys the articles into' a position tobe wrapped or into a preliminary position from which the articles aretaken and removed to a position on the wrapper.

, The present invention which was divided out of applicant's abovementioned application Serial No. 94,438, deals particularly with thepreliminary feeding of the articles to the wrapping mechanism. Thisconveying mechanism is quite novel and enables even a fragile cake to behandled to the wrapping mechanism without breaking the same. In thedrawings in this application I have illustrated the invention in aslightly difierent manner than in application Serial No. 94,438 in 5order to more clearly bring forth the invention which is to be claimedherein.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the machine isshown as adapted to the purpose of wrapping wafers such as cakes orcookies, but it will be understood that the principle of the inventionmay be applied to the wrapping of a large-variety of articles. Thewafers to be wrapped are arranged on edge in a conveyer trough, bestillustrated in Figs. 1, 2.55

.1- 4 however, is greater than the total travel of the and 3. Theconveyer trough comprises a pair of guides and a plurality of conveyerbelts arranged between the guides. The guides are indicated by thereference numerals I and 2, the guide I being that which is closer tothe observer in Fig. 1, and the guide 2 is that which is farthest awayfromthe observer in Fig. 1. There are three conveyer belts. The firstconveyer belt is of substantially the same width as the distance betweenthe guides I and 2,- and is indicated by the refer ence'numeral 3. Thenext conveyer belt is the conveyer belt 4 which is substantially less inwidth than the distance between the guides I and 2 and finally there arethe conveyer-belts 5, portions 7 of which are arranged on opposite sidesof the conveyer belt 4. The conveyer belts 5 are each. 8fsullostantially the same width as the conveyer elt The conveyer belt 3is trained over the pulleys 6 and I secured to the shafts 8 and 9respectively, these shafts being in turn rotatably mounted in thebrackets I0 and II secured to the guides I and 2. Conveyer belt 4 istrained'over the pulley I2 secured to the shaft I3 rotatably mounted irhthe bracket I4, the latter being secured to the guide I. This conveyerbelt is also trained over a pulley I5 secured to a shaft I6 which inturn is rotatably mounted'in the bracket I1. 1 The guides-I and 2 arecarried by means of a supporting bracket I8, and the bracket I1 is alsosecured to the bracket I8 as illustrated in Fig. 1. A bracket I9 securedto the supporting bracket I8 carries a rotatable pulley 20 at the freeend thereof, and this pulley 20 lies intermediate the pulleys I2 and I5,and the belt 4 is adapted to travel over the pulley20, as well as overthe pulleys I2 and I5. It will be noted from-an inspection of Fig. 1that by providing the intermediate pulley 20, a

I portion of the upper run of the belt 4 is 'in the same plane as theupper run of the belt 3, and that the portion of the belt 4 to the rightof the first portion of that belt is inclined slightly downwardly due tothe fact that the upper surface of the pulley I5 is not in the samehorizontal plane as the upper surface of the pulley I2.

The belts5 are trained over the pulley 20 and also over the pulley 2Iillustrated in Figs. I, 8, and 9 particularly, this latter pulley beingsecured to the shaft 22 which is rotatable in suitable bearings in thebearing support 23 mounted on the bearing bracket I8.

, The wafers, which I shall hereinafter refer to as cakes are placed ina V-shaped trough'24 in J- abutting relation as illustrated in Fig. 1,the cakes being placed in the trough 24 either by hand or by suitablemechanical means. The cakes travel down the trough 24 by gravity, andwhen they reach the bottom end of the trough; the same will rest on theupperrun of the conveyer belt 3 and the conveyer belt 3'wil1 convey thecakes to the right onto the conveyer belt 4, which in turn will carrythe cakes onto the conveyer belts 5.

The belts 3, 4, and 5 each travel at a different rate of speed. Theconveyer belt 4 travels at a greater rate of speed than the conveyerbelt 3, but at a lesser speed than the conveyer belts 5. The. reason forthe conveyer belts 5 traveling at a greater rate of speed than theconveyer belt 4 is that the conveyer belts 5 are intermittently operatedas will be described later, whereas the conveyer belt 4, as well as'theconveyer belt 3 are continuously moving. The total travel of the beltbelts 5 for reasons hereinafter.

In order to obtain the respective speeds for the conveyer belts 3, 4;and 5, I provide .a sprocket 25 on the shaft 3, sprockets 26 on theshaft I6, idlers 21' and a sprocket on the shaft 28 about which aretrained the chains 29 and 30 in the manner best illustrated in Figs. 1and 2. The shaft 28 is driven from the shaft 3I by means of the gears 32and 33 secured to the shafts 23 and 3| respectively. The shaft 3| isdriven in turn from the main drive shaft 34, shown in Fig. 4, by meansof a chain 35 trained over a sprocket which will appear more fully onthe shaft 34, idlers 36 and 31 and sprocket 38;

gears 39, 40, and H; and chain 42 trained over the sprocket 43 on theshaft 3| and over a sprocket 44 on the shaft 45 which carries the gear 4I The direction of travel of the driving elements is indicated by meansof the arrows in Figs. 1 and 4.

The cakes are indicated by the reference numeral 46, and the action ofthe conveyers in conveying the cakes is as follows: Y

The cakes on the conveyer 3 are arranged in substantially the angleindicated at.A in Fig. 1, but as the cakes are carried onto the conveyer4, they are spread out more and at the same time are at a lesser angleto the horizontal except when acted upon by an exterior force other thanthe force which is exerted by the conveyer belts 3 and .4. One suchexteriorforce is exerted by the belts 5 when the same are stationary. In

.other words, when the belts 5 are stationary, the

cakes move onto the conveyers 5 from the conveyer 4, and begin to pileup or stop. This stopping of the cakes as they arrive on the conveyers 5causes the cakes to also pile up on the conveyer cakes may be carriedonto the conveyer belts '5 to compensate for those which are taken'fromthe conveyer belts 5 to the wrapper which is to enclose the cakes orsection of the line of cakes later on. The conveyer belt 3 travels at arate of speed which is just about sumcient to keep a constant feed ofcakes to the line of cakes without permitting a gap in said line, andperhaps the conveyer 3 will travel at just slightly a greater rate ofspeed than is actually necessary. The

conveyer belt 4 travels faster than the conveyer belt 3 in order tospread out the cakes while maintaining the cakes inthe properoverlapping relation.

It is obvious that if any one of the cakes falls flat on the conveyers3, 4 and 5, it will, practically be impossible to stand this cake onedge as is necessary for wrapping and as is indicated at C in Fig. 1.Therefore, I provide meansfor ejecting each and every cake which islying flat on the conveyer 3. This means is best illustrated in Figs. 1,2, and 3. In these figures is shown a plate '41 which lies over the belt3 and has portions 43 which lie on opposite sides of the pulley I2 whichpartially supports the conveyer belt 4. The plate 4.1 has an edge 49disposed at an angle to the path of travel of articles on the conveyerand is of substantially the same thickness as the cakes which are to bewrapped as is more clearly 65.- upper edges for the pocket. At one endof the not ride over the plate 41, but will abut against the angularsurface 48 and be drawn toward the guide in which I provide an opening50 through which the .cake 46 is ejected, as is more clearly illustratedin Fig. 3. I

The conveyer belt ,4 travels just a little faster than is necessary tokeep the conveyers 5 sunplied with cakes which are removed from theconveyers 5 to a, position above the wrapper which is to be wrappedabout the articles.

01' course, it is desired that the articles occupy a substantiallyvertical position when they are removed from the conveyer and preferablyinclined'slightly forwardly in the direction of movement of the conveyerbelts 5, rather than backwardly. For this purpose I provide the rotatingwheel 5| secured to the shaft 3|, and this carries a plurality of springwipers 52 secured about the periphery of the'wheel 5|. Of course therotation of the shaft 3| causes the wheel 5| t rotate in the directionindicated by the. arrow in Fig.1, and the ends of the spring wipers 52engage the upper edges of the cakes 46 and if the cakes are inclinedbackwardly instead of for.- wardly, the spring wiper will move the upperedges of the cakes forwardly and maintain them in this position untilthe cakes are ready to be removed from the conveyer belts 5.

I willnow proceed to describe the manner in which a section of the lineof articles is moved from the conveyer-belts 5. This means is perhapsbest illustrated in Figs. '7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. The driving means forthe mechanisms shown in Figs. '7 to 11 inclusive, are shown in Figs. 4,5,

and 6, and will be described in connection with the description of Figs.7 to 11.

The articles which are to be removed from the conveyer belts 5 arecarried into pockets provided in the ends of the arms 53 which form aturret indicated generally by the reference numeral 54 and carried by ashaft 55 to which it is rigidly secured. Each of the pockets at the endsof the arms 53 comprises a pair of spaced projections 56 to which aresecured the pins 51. Plates 58 slidable on the pins 51 arespring-pressed toward each other by means of the springs 58 surroundingthe pins 51 and'abutting the collars 68. The lower edges of the platesare bent inwardly as at 6|. See particularly Fig. 11. The plates 58 formthe opposite bottom edges of the pocket and the projections 58 on thearms 53 form the pocket are the abutment plates62, which are rigidlysecured to the projections 58 or arm 53. At the other end of the pocketare a pair of fingers 88 which are adapted to be drawn toward theopposite end of the pocket by means of the springs 64. The cakes aremoved into the pocket by means which I will presently describe, from theunderside of the turret, and in order that the cakes will move into thepocket, the springbelts 5 as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 11. The rods68 are .guided by the brackets 51, and are connected-by means of the tiebar 68 at their lower- .out injury to those portions of the gear teethsame direction to impart rotation to the shaft 22 most ends. -A link 68pivoted at I8 to the tie bar 68 is also pivotally connected at to theouter end of an arm "I2 pivoted on the shaft 13. The arm 12 carries anextension 14 having a roller on the outer end thereof which roller is 5adapted to travel in a cam groove in the left hand faceof the double cam15 shown particularly in Figs. 5 and 6. This cam 15 is secured to thedrive shaft 34 and when the shaft 34 is rotated, the' arm I2 isoscillated to cause vertical movem ment of the plunger 65.

The plunger is provided with a lever 16 pivoted at 11, the upper surfaceof the lever being substantially in the same horizontal plane as theupper surface of the plunger 655A spring 18 15 normally urges the upperend of the lever away. from the plunger. A roller 18 rotatably mountedon the bracket support I8 is adapted to engage the lower beveled surface88 of the lever 16 when the lever 16 is moved downwardly a sufficientamount for this purpose,so that when the plunger is in its lowermostposition the lever is sub.- stantially vertical as is best illustratedin Fig. 7. However, when the plunger moves upwardly so that the roller18 can no longer act on the lever IS, the upper end of the lever will bemoved outwardly by the spring 18 as is best illustrated in Fig. 8.

8| and to the rear end of the shaft 8| is secured a gear sector 82having theextension 83 connected by,means of a link 84 to an arm 85'pivoted on the shaft 13 (see Figs. 4, 5 and 6) and this arm 85 carries aroller 86 which travels within a suitable cam groove in the'cam 81,shown in Figs. 5 and 6. As the cam 81 rotates, the section 82 is causedto oscillate in the manner which has Just been described. A gear 81' isrotatably mounted on the shaft 22; and meshes with the teeth on' thegear sector 82. An arm 88 secured to the shaft 22, has a pawl 88pivotally supported thereon at 80, and a spring 8| normally urges thepawl in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 10. As the gear sectionshown in 82 rocks in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 10, thegear 81' is caused to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. The gear81 is wider than the gear sector 82 as is best illustrated in Fig.,5, sothat the teeth of thegear may be engaged by the pawl 88 withthereonwhich engage the gear teeth on the gear. sector 82. As the gear 81'rotates in a counterclockwise direction, the arm 88 is rotated in thatin a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 10, or in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Figs. 7, 8, and 9. Since the pulley 2| is securedtothe shaft 22, the pulley as well as the belts 5 will move in thedirection of the arrows shown in Figs. 7, 8,

and. 9. Of course the intermittent movement of the belt carriessuccessive sections of the line 01'- articles supported on the conveyerbe'lts 5 above the plunger 65 so that the plunger 55 when raisedvertically, will move a sectionof the line 55 of articles into thepockets formed by the plates 6|, 62 and fingers 63.

A stripper plate 88' is pivotally connected to the links and 8| which-inturn are pivoted to the guide 2 at 82 and 83 respectively. See' Figs. 7and 10. A spring 84 connected to a pin' i on the guide 2 and to a book85 on the link 8| is adapted to normally draw the'link 8| against thestop 81 while permitting movement of the link 8| away from the stopunder the influence 'u' The bearing support l8 rotatably carries a shaft30 of a cam mechanism which will be described presently. The link 9|carries an extension 98 having the upper beveled surface 99. The upperend of the extension 98 lies in the path of movement of the projectionsI00 and IN on the gear 40. As the gear 40 rotates, the projections I00and IM are successively brought into engagement with the extension 98,and cause' the stripper plate 89' to bemoved to the left against theactionof the spring 94.

A shaft I02 (see particularly Figs. '7, 8, 10, and 11) has the arm I03rockably mounted thereon and this arm has a horizontally extendingprojection I04 extending through a slot I05 in the 1'6'-' guide 2, theslot I05 being arcuate with the center of the arcuate portion at theaxis of the shaft I02. The horizontally extending projection carries"the fingers I06 thereon, these fingers being arranged I in staggeredrelation as best illustrated in Fig. 11, and being arranged between theguides I and 2. A link I01 pivoted to the arm I03 at I08 is also pivotedat I09 (see Fig. 6) to an arm IIO rockably mounted on the shaft I3 andhaving a cam I roller III thereon which travels in a suitable 2 camgroove in the cam H2 (see Figs. 5 and 6).

As the cam I I2 rotates with the shaft 34, the arm I I0 oscillates andcauses an oscillating movement to be imparted to the arm I03 through theintera mediary of the link I01. This rocking movement of the arm I03alternately positions the fingers I06 in the positions shown in Figs.land Fig. 9'.

'The operation of the means for removing uc- M) tions of the line ofarticles on the conveyer belts 5 is as follows: G

' As, the plunger 65 begins its vertical movement upward, the pin I00 onthe gear strikes the upper end of the extension 98 and rocks thestripper-plate slightly to the left or rather moves (0% the stripperplate 89 to the left for a short interval of time so that as the plungerengages a group of cakes on the conveyer belt and moves the same upward,the stripper plate 69' will not be in the way of the endmost cakes, butas soon as the cakes have begun their upward movement, the stripperplate is advanced by the spring 94 to bring the end of the stripperplate against the endmost cake of the section of the line of cakes jbeing removed and to press them against the fingers I06 and against theplates 62, while they are being moved into the recess in the arm 53 ofthe turret. After the plunger has moved upwardly a short distancecarrying with it a group of cakes, the endof the lever 16 moves out ofen- 'gagement with the roller I9 and the spring I8 causes the upper endof the lever to move into the position illustratedin Fig. 8 althoughthis movement occurs at a. point considerably below the point at whichthe plunger is shown in Fig. 8. This movement of the lever I6 causes anextension of the supporting surface of the plunger so that the endmostcake will not be dropped off the plunger after the plunger begins itsupward movement.

' As'is quite readily seen in Fig. 8, the plunger moves to a positionabove the lowersurface of the stripper plate 83" and therefore it isnecessary that the stripper plate be again moved to the .left to makeroom for the upper end of the lever 16 as otherwise the end of the leverI6 would strike the'underside of the stripper plate 09 and cause a jam,and no doubt a destruction of apart of the mechanism. This movement ofthe stripper I plate is effected by the projection IN on the gear 46.Asia apparent from an inspection of Figs. 7

and 8, the projection MI is longer in a peripheral direction than theprojection I00 and conse-' quently, will hold the stripper plate to theleft'for a longer period of time than will the projection I00. Atsubstantially the same time that the F6 cakes are positioned entirelywithin the recess in the arm 53, the projection I 0I moves out ofengagement with the extension 98 which is connected to the stripperplate as will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 8, and the plunger 65begins its 10 downward movement.

With the arrangement which has just been described, it is clear that thecakes are moved vertically without the danger of having a jam and thatthe cakes are constantly pressed together so 153 as to keep them inalinement and to prevent them from falling off the plunger 65. At thesame time the plunger 65 is given an extended amount of surface for thepurpose of preventing cakes from If cakes do drop off 80;.

into the next pocket in the turret.

In order that the cakes may be properly held in 30: abutting relationwith each other and to insure that the same number of cakes are fed intothe pocket each time, I provide a means which operates in conjunctionwith the conveyer belts 5 to firmly press the cakes which are fed by theconveyer belts 5, together. This means comprises the fingers I06 whichare mounted on the horizontal extension I04 on the arm I03.

When the conveyer belts 5. begin their intermittent movement to theright in Figs. '7, 8, and 9, the 40 fingers I06 are in the positionsillustrated in Fig. 9 and the cakes are then moved over onto the fingersI06 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 9, the foremost cakes falling moreor less flatly on the conveyer belts 5 and then sliding upwardly 45.-alcng the fingers I06. It will be noticed from an inspection of Fig. 9,as well as Fig. 11, that the lowermost finger I06 is arranged betweenthe-two conveyer belts 5 thereby insuring that the cakes will beproperly engaged by the fingers At substantially the same time, orperhaps slightly be-' fore or after the time when the conveyer belts 5complete their intermittent movement to the right, the link I01 causesthe fingers I06 to be moved into the position shown in Fig. '7. The

conveyer belts 5 travel a distance which is somewhat greater than thelength of the line of articles which is to be fed into the recess in theturret so that when the fingers I06 are brought into'the verticalposition, the cakes are all moved back- 110' wardly a. slight amountthereby bringing the cakes into firm engagement with each other. Afterthe fingers I06 are in their vertical positions,

' the plunger begins its upward movement in the" manner which haspreviously been described,- and 55; the cakes are 'fed into the pocketof the arm in the turret. It will be understood of course, that as soonas a section of the line of articles is moved into the turret and theplunger again is in shown in Fig. '7, the cakes will occupy a vertical Iposition. If the fingers I06 were kept in a vertical position asillustrated in Fig. 7, this would not be possible, and therefore it ispractically necessary to move the fingers I06 into a position such asthat shown in Fig. 9 in order that the cakes which have fallen, may beproperly positioned again in a vertical position.

The plunger 65 not only acts as a means for,

moving the articles into the pockets of the turret,

but also acts as a means for counting the number of articles which areto be packaged in a single package thereby eliminating .a separatemeans- The plunger will always move ticles is positioned within thepocket 4 with the opposite edges of the wrapper beneath the projectionsH5. The wrappers are positioned in this manner by means of'mechanismwhich is disclosed in my application Serial No. 94,438 and while thepockets face to the left as viewed in Fig. 4. In other words, theextreme left. hand pocket shown in Fig. 4 is in the position occupiedthereby when the wrapper is inserted therein. The means for inserting.the wrapper in-the pocket does not form a part of. the inventionclaimed in this application and has therefore been omitted as is alsothe means for wrapping the wrapper about the articles. When the pocketsarrive at the position D shown in Figs. 4 and 5, they are in a positionto receive. the articles from the turret 54 and means are provided forejecting the article from the pockets in the turret as these pocketsarrive at the position above the pocket at D. The turret rotatesintermittently in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5. Each timethe intermittent operating means actuates the turret, the turret ismoved'one-fourth of a turn. The means for intermittently rotating theturret is best illustrated in Figs..4, 5, 6, and 12- and is constructedas follows:

To the shaft 55 which carries the turret is secured a 'disk II 6 havingperipherally arranged notches I I1. A gear I I8 is rotatably mounted onthe shaft 55, and has the arm I I9 secured thereto.

A pawl I20 pivoted atf=I2I to the arm H9 is pressed by means of thespring I22 in a clockwise direction so that the pawl is urged intoengageof the cam as viewed in Fig. 6, or on the upper 1 face of the camas viewed in Fig. 5. The cam 15 rocks the arm I24, an amount which willimpart substantially a quarter turn to the gear H8 and consequently aquarter turn to the pawl I20 and to the disk H6 when the gear H8 isrotated in a clockwise direction. When the gear is rotated in acounterclockwise direction von the reverse movement of the rack. I23,the pawl I20 rides out of the notch I I I and over the outer surface ofthe disk I I6 into the next notch I I1. During this last movement it isnecessary ,to prevent reverse rotation of the disk H6 and for thispurpose I provide the detent I21 on the end of the arm I28 I which armis pivoted at I29 and connected at I30 to a link I 3|. As is bestillustrated in Fig. 6, the link I3I passes through the upper end of thearm I32 and is surrounded by a spring I33,.whichabuts the arm I32 and acollar I34 on the end 01' 5 'the link I3I. The arm I32 is rotatablymounted on the shaft I35 and has a projection I36 thereon carrying a camroller I31 which operates in the cam groove I38 in \the cam I39 securedto the shaft I40. I As the shaft I40 rotates, the arm I32 is caused tooscillate. The arm I28 rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed inFig. 12 out of the notch H1 in the disk I I6 as the disk is being movedby the pawl in a clockwise direction. Immediately after the arm I32 hasbeen moved to the left as viewed in Fig. 6, the same is moved to theright and during this interval the pawl I has moved the disk H6 in aclockwise direction a sufflcient amount so that the detent, I21 is outof registra- 20 tion with the notches I I1. As a result, the detent I21is brought into engagement with the periphery vof the disk H6, and ridesthereon under the yielding tension of the spring I33 so that when thenext notch H1 is presented to the detent I21, the same will drop intothe recess and prevent reverse movement of. the disk H6 as the pawlbegins its reverse or counter-clockwise movement as viewed in Fig. 12.The drive shaft I40 is driven by means of the bevel gears HI and I42from the shaft I43, and a chain I 44 trained over the sprockets I45, andI 46 drives the cam shaft, 34 in unison with the shaft I40.

A considerable portion of the operating mechanism shown in my co-pendingapplication Serial No. 94,438 of which this is a division, has beenomitted in this application for the reason that the showing of the sameis unnecessary to acornplete disclosure of the invention being claimedherein. Only suflicient of the ope'rating-rnechanism has been includedto bring out the operation of the.,mechanism being claimed and to enableone skilled in the art'tomake'this inven- I tion.

When thePcakes have been'rotated into a position above the pocket at D,a plunger or ejector comes into operation, and this operates 'to' ejectthe articles onto the wrapper in the pocket at the position D. Thismeans is perhaps best illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6, 13, and 14. Abracket I41 50 oted fingers I55, which are pivoted at I56 to the bracketand which-have cam operating heads I51 0 integral therewith, these camoperating heads being adapted to co-operatefiwith the projections I58 onthe bearing I50, for a purpose which will appear presently.

As is best illustrated in Fig. 4, the rod I48 has 5 a collar I59 securedthereto, and this collar is connected by means of the'link I60 to an armI6I secured to theshaft I62, rotatably mounted in the bracket I41. "Theshaft I62 has a second arm I63 secured thereto and this arm is connectedat I64 70 to a link I 65. The link I 65 is connected at I66 to an armI61 rotatably mounted on the shaft 13,. The arm I61 carries a, rollerI68 onthe end thereof, and this roller engages within a cam groove 4 inthe cam I63. As the cam I69 rotates, the arm 15 movement when an arm ofthe turret is positioned over the pocket at D, and the plunger I54 firstengages the upper edges of the series of articles which have beenremoved from the line of articles .on the conveyers 5. The bracket I5Icontinues its downward movement with the shaft I48, but

due to the fact that the plunger I54 rests on the upper edges of thecake 46, the plunger is held stationary while the bracket I 5| movesdownplunger moves downwardly due to the fact that it is now engaged bythe bracket I5I. The shaft I48 continues its downwardly movement untilthe section of cakes has been moved onto the wrapper in the pocket at D.It will therefore be seen that the cakes are moved out of the turretinto the pocket at D without disturbing the assembled relation ofthecakes 46. As the shaft I48 moves upwardly, the weight of the plungerI54 holds the cakes ,down in the pocket while the fingers I55 slidealong the endmost cakes so that the cakes will not be drawn upwardlyalong with the shaft I48. The beveled surfaces on the lower ends of theprojections I58 engage the cam heads I51 on the fingers I55 as the shaftI48 moves upward. As a result, the fingers I55 are again positio'ned asillustrated therefor in Fig. 14, and are ready to move the next sectionof cakes into the next succeeding pocket after the turret is rotatedthrough its next quarter turn.

I will now describe briefly the operation of the entire conveyingmechanism which has been described:

The cakes are fed into the trough 24 in any desired manner and areconveyed to the right bythe conveyer belt 3 between the guides I and 2.Any of the cakes which lie fiat on the conveyer 3 are ejected by the camplate 41 through the recess 58, and the remaining cakes are carried overthe cam plate 41 onto the conveyer belt 4 which is traveling at agreater rate of speed than the conveyer 3, and which tends to spread thecakes slightly more than they are spread on the conveyer tain the cakesin overlapping relation to each other.

In order toinsure that the cakes are inclined slightly forward ratherthan rearward,.the spring finger wipers 52 on the wheel 5I engage theupper edges of the cakes and incline them slightly'forward or at leastinto a substantially vertical position so that they will be in properposition when they reach the right hand extent of their travel with theconveyer belts 5.

conveyer belts 5, the fingers I66 are in the posi tion illustrated inFig. 9, and the foremost cakes are moved onto the fingers I06. Atsubstantially the same time that the conveyer belts 5 stop theirmovement toward the right, the fingers I86 are ,5 brought into theposition illustrated in Fig. '7, and the plunger 65 thereafter movesupward to remove a section of the articles in line on the conveyers intothe pockets formed in the ends on the arms 53 of the turret. During thismovement, the upper end of the lever I6 moves outwardly to form anextended surface for the plunger 65 and the stripper plate 89' moves tothe left both at the beginning of the upward movement of the plunger andalso near the upper extremity of the plungers movement in order to makeroom for the upper end of the lever I6 as previously described.

The turret rotates intermittently to position 1 the articles above thepocket at D and by means of the mechanism which has been previously de-I scribed in detail. When the articles are in a position above thepocket at D, the shaft I48 moves downward and causes the cakes to beejected from the pocket in the turret into the pocket In 25. theconveyer chain in which pockets the articles are wrapped by themechanism which is fully described in my application Serial No. 94,438.

The conveyer chain which is formed of the v links H3 is mounted onsprockets and is intermittently operated to position successive pocketsat the position D and in the manner fully described in my applicationSerial No. 94,438 of which this application is a division.

Obviously those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains maymakechanges in the construction and arrangement of parts withoutdeparting from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus fully described an embodiment of my invention, what I desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a continuously operating conveyer for receivingarticlesin abutting relation, a second continuously operating conveyer.

for receiving articles from said first conveyer, said second conveyerhaving a greater rate of speed than said first conveyer for spacing saidarticles along said second conveyer while maintaining them inoverlapping abutting relation with each other, and an intermittentlyoperating conveyer for receiving articles from said second conveyer, f

2.. In a wrapping machine, a periodically operating transfer device, anintermittently oper-. ating conveyer operating in timed relation with,said transfer device for supplying articles to saidtransfer device, acontinuously operating conveyer for supplying articles to saidintermittently operating conveyer in abutting relation'with each other,said continuously operating conveyer hav ing a speed sufllcient tosupply articles more ,rapidly to said intermittently operating conveyerthan they are removed'therefrom by said transfer device but maintainingthe articles .in 65.

overlapping abutting relation with each other, and a second continuouslyoperating conveyer for supplying articles to'said first-named continu- 77 2,016,820 from said intermittently operating conveyer by said transferdevice.

3. The combination with a conveyer for feeding thin articles'arranged onedge on said conveyer, of an abutment device disposed at the end of thetravel of the articles on said conveyer, said abutment device beingmovable from an inclined to an upright position for straightening thearticles on said conveyer.

4. The combination with an intermittentlymoving conveyer for feeding aline of thin articles disposed on edge on said conveyer, of a device forremoving a section of said articles at the end of the travel thereof onsaid conveyer, and a device ,disposed adjacent the end of the travel ofthe articles on said conveyer for straightening said articles prior tothe removal thereof, said device being movable to an inclined positionfor receiving the articles as they reach the end of said conveyer andmovable from said inclined said articles.

5. The combination with a conveyer for-feeding a line of articles, of anabutment member position to an upright position for straightening formoving articles from said line transversely to the length thereof, andmeans for increasing the over-all length of said abutment membersubsequent to the displacement of the articles engaged thereby relativeto said line but while said articles are stillin engagement with thearticles in said line.

6. The combination with a conveyer for feeding articles to a wrappingmachine,'of a plunger movable transversely to the direction ofmovemoving said stripper plate in a direction oppoment of said conveyerfor removing articles from said conveyer, a stripper plate for engagingarticles on said conveyer disposed adjacent the path or movement of saidplunger, means for site to the direction of movement of said conveyer atthe beginning of the displacement of the articles from said conveyer bysaid plunger, and means for moving said stripper plate in the'samedirection as that in which said conveyer moves prior to completeseparation of said articles from the remaining articles on saidconveyer.

'7. The combination with a conveyer for feeding 'a line of articles incontact with one another, of

a'plunger for extracting articles from said line by movement transverseto the direction of move- -ment of said conveyer, a stripper platedisposed adjacent the path of movement of said plunger,

means for retracting said stripper plate during the initial movement ofthe articles removed by said plunger, means for advancing said stripperplate subsequent to said initial movement, and means for/ againretracting said stripper plate to permit said plunger to pass saidstripper plate.

8. The combinatiorfwith a conveyer for feeding a line of articles, of aplunger movable transversely to the direction of movement of said .con-

' veyer for extracting articles from said conveyer,

said plunger having the face thereof variable in over-all length, and astripper plate disposed closely adjacent the path of movement of saidplunger, said stripper plate being movable to permit passage of saidplunger when the over-all length of said face has been increased 9. Thecombination with a conveyer for feed ing a line of articles, of aplunger for transferring aseries of articles from said conveyer, saidplunger having an outwardly movable mem-.- her at one end thereof, meansfor holding said member in retracted position during the initialoperation of said plunger, means for moving said member outwardly priorto complete separation of the articles engaged by said plunger from theother articles on said conveyer, a stripper plate disposed adjacent thepath of movement of said member, and means for retracting said stripperplate to permit said member to pass said plate.

10. The combination with a conveyer for feeding a line of articles, of aplunger for transferring articles from said conveyer, means for movingsaid plunger in a direction transverse to the direction of said line ofarticles, said plunger having a contact member variable in over-alllength, means for varying the over-all length of said contact membersubsequent to cles from theremaining articles on said con veyer, astripper plate disposed adjacent the path of movement of said plunger,means for retracting. said stripper plate during the initial 20 movementof the articles to be extractedv by said plunger, means for advancingsaid stripper plate and retaining said stripper plate in advancedposition during the expansion of said plunger, and means forsubsequently retracting said stripper plate to permit said plunger topasssaid stripper plate.

11. A conveyer comprising a horizontally disposed movable elementadapted to convey thereon relatively flat articles in overlappingrelation, a wall adjacent said element having an opening therein, andmeans for deflecting an article through said opening when said articlehas one position on said movable element but .permitting said article tocontinue movement on said movable element when said article has adifferentposition on said element, the size of the opening beingrestricted vertically to limit the number of articles which may besimultaneously deflected therethrough.

12. A. conveyer having a movable element adapted to convey "thereonrelatively fiat articles in overlapping relation, a wall positionedadjacent said element having an opening there-' through, and a platehaving an edge disposed at an 'angleto the path of the articles carriedby said movable element and arranged in registration with said openingfor deflecting articles from said conveyer through said opening, the

size of the opening being restricted laterally and vertically to limitthe movement of articles which may be. simultaneously deflectedtherethrough.

13. A conveyer comprising a moving belt, a side wall disposed adjacentthepath of travel 65 of said belt and having a narrow slot therethroughextending longitudinally of said belt and in registration with the uppersurface thereof, and a plate disposed flatwise over said belt and havingthe lateral edge thereof disposed at an angle to the path of travel ofsaid belt to deflect an article lying 'flatwise' on said belt throughsaid slot but to permit an article arranged on'edge on said belt ,topass over said plate, the-top edge of said slot being.substanoverlapping relation will be fed to said second conveyer.

15. In a conveying apparatus, a pair of conveyers arranged in tandemrelation toeach other for conveying a purality of overlapping articlesalong a path of travel to a wrappingposition, and an ejector platehaving an edge thereof lying just above the surface of one of saidconveyers and at an angle to said path of travel and in a position to bestruck by articles lying fiat on said last mentioned conveyer, saidejector plate being adapted to eject an article-01f said conveyer-if andwhen said article lies flat on said conveyer but not if said :article isarranged in overlapping arrangement to the preceding article.

' 16. In a wrapping machine for thin articles, a conveyer for receivingand conveying said articles along a predetermined path with-the articlessupported:- on their narrow edges comprising a. pair of spaced belts,means for driving said belts in unison with each other, and a movableabutment member between said belts adapted to contact with the end-mostone of the articles on said conveyer belts, and movable from a positionin which its abutment surface is in substantially vertical operativeposition to a position inclined thereto in a direction substantially thesame as the direction of feed of said articles whereby the end-most oneof said articles moves onto said abutment member whereby when saidabutment member is moved into a, vertical position, the end-most articleon said conveyer is moved to an upright position substantially at rightangles thereto and the succeeding articles I similarly. arrangethemselves in vertical relation due to the action of said abutmentmember on said end-most article. 45

17. In a. wrapping machine for relatively thin articles having narrowedges, the combination with a conveyer for moving the articles along apredetermined path to an ejecting position, the

.is to be removed from said series, the first of the first of thearticles in said series resting flatly on said conveyer with theremaining articles in overlapping relation therewith, and an abutmentmember for engaging the end-most flatly lying article in the series andthereafter movable into a vertical position to move said end-mostarticles 1 to a substantially vertical position. x

18. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means for feeding aseries of thin articles on edge along a predetermined path, the first ofthe series of articles resting in a substantially horizontal positionwiththe other articles in said series arranged in overlapping relationwith each other, and means for raising the end-most articles of theseries into a vertical position at a position in the path of movement ofsaid articles wherein 'atgroup of said'articles at the forward end ofthe series is to be removed from said series.

19. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means for feeding thinwafer-like articles along a predetermined path' continuously to anejecting position wherein a group of said articles may occupy a reverseposition extending upfirst article, an abutment member onto which saidfirst mentioned article rides as it moves along its path of travel, andmeans for moving said abutment member into a position such that the,first of the articles in said series is in a substan- -5 tiallyvertical plane, said abutment member being thereafter maintained in'thisposition for a period of time while the remaining articles abut againstthe first article and assume a substantially parallel positionwith.respect thereto, and an ejector for thereafter removing a group ofthe articles from the forward end of said series.

20. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means, for conveying aseries of thin waferlike articles to a wrapping position comprising aconveyer for feeding said articles along a predetermined path with saidarticles arranged in overlapping relation with each other, means forengaging the first of the articles in said series at a predeterminedposition in the path of movement of said article and for moving saidarticle to a vertical position, the remaining articles in said seriesbeing movable by said conveyer against said first article with ayielding pressure, whereby said articles assume a substantially parallelrelation with respect to said first article, and means for preventingreverse movement of the upper edges of said articles as said articlesare being moved into substantially parallel upright position.

21. In a wrapipng machine, the combination. with a conveyer for feedinga series of thin waferlike articles along a predetermined path whilesaid articles rest in overlapping relation with each other, thewafer-like ends normally sloping upwardly and in the direction ofmovement of said articles, and means for engaging said articles at apoint in their path of travel for moving any articles to said aforesaidnormal position which wardlyand in the direction opposite to themovement thereof.

22. In a wrapping mechanism, the combination with a conveyer having theupper surface thereof movable continuously in a given direction and 5adapted to support a series of thin wafer-like articles in overlappingrelation with-each other with the edges thereof resting on saidconveyer, the articles being normally extending forwardly and in thedirection of travel of said conveyers, so

and means for engagingsaid articles for holding said articles in saidaforesaid manner on said conveyer and for moving any articles whichextend upwardly and in the direction opposite to the movement of saidconveyers to a position in which they extend forwardlyand in thedirection of movement of said conveyer. I

23. In a wrapping mechanism, the combination/ with a conveyer having theupper surface thereof movable continuously in a given direction and obadapted to support a ,se ies of thin wafer-like articles in overlappingr ation with each other with the edges thereof resting on said conveyer,the articles being normally extending forwardly and in the direction oftravel of said conveyers- 5' and means for engaging said articles forholding said articles in said aforesaid manner on said conveyer and. formoving any articles which ex- I tend upwardly and in the directionopposite to the movement of said conveyers to a position in which theyextend forwardly and in the direction of movement of said conveyer,comprising a rotatable element havingarticle engaging portions thereoncontactable with the upper edges of said wafer-like articles at a pointin their path of aoias'ao movement, said article engaging portions beingmovable in the general direction of said conveyer while in contact withsaid articles.

24. In a wrapping mechanism, the combination with a conveyer having theupper surface thereof movable continuously in a given direction andadapted to support'a series of thin wafer-like articles in overlappingrelation with each other with the edges thereof resting on saidconveyer,

the articles being normally extending forwardly and in the direction oftravel of said conveyers, and means for engaging said articles forholding said articles in said aforesaid manner on said conveyer and formoving any articles which extend upwardly and in the direction oppositeto the movement of said conveyers to a position in which they extendforwardly and in the direction of movement of said conveyer, comprisinga rotatable element having article engaging portions thereon consistingof outwardly extending.

flexible arms contactable with the upper edges of said wafer-likearticles at a point in their path of movement, said article engagingportions being movable in the general direction of said conveyer whileincontact with said articles.

25. In a wrapping machine for thin wafer-like articles, the combinationwith a conveyer for supporting said articles on edge and for movingarticles along' a predetermined path to an ejectingposition at whichsaid articles are ejected in groups, and means; contactable with saidarticles on a side thereof not in contact with said conveyer for movingsaid articles into a substantially perpendicular position with respectto the supporting surface of said conveyer.

26. A wrapping machine conveying mechanism for conveying a series ofrelatively thin articles from a supplying position to an ejectingposition comprising a series of conveying'elements in tandem relationwith each other for receiving the articles successively, the supportingsurfaces'oi! said conveying elements being movable at different rates ofspeed, the first of said conveying elements being adapted to receive thearticles on edge and in overlapping relation with each other,

' straining the articleson said third element while groups thereof arebeing ejected therefrom whereby said articles move against each otherand into a substantially vertical position due to being restrained andbecausepf their original overlapping relation with each other wherebysaid articles are in substantially perpendicular relation with respectto-said third element when the same are in a position to be ejected.

2'7. A device as claimed in claim 26 in which there is an ejector at theejecting position for moving articles at said position off said thirdconveyer, and in which the restraining means compriseslthe side of saidejector whici. lies in the path of movement of said article duiing theejecting movement of said ejector.

28. A device as claimed in claim 26 which includes an ejector at theejecting position for moving articles at said position off said thirdconveyer, and an additional abutment member operable after said ejectorhas transferred a group of articles from said third conveying elementand is moved into inoperative position, tomove thefor- 5 ward articlesof the series on said third element into a vertical position andmaintain the same in that position until said ejector moves against thearticles to convey a-group thereof off said third element. 29. In aconveying mechanism for conveying thin wafer-like articles to a wrappingposition, the combination with means adapted to receive saidarticles' inoverlapping relation with each other, a second means for receiving thearticles from said first means in overlapping'relation with each-other,both of said means being movable in the same general direction but thesecond of said means being movable at a greater rate of speed than saidfirst means whereby said articles 2 tend to change the extent of theiroverlapping re-, lation with respect to each other, and a third r meansfor moving said articles adapted to receive the articles from saidsecond means, and while the articles are in overlapping relation witheach other, said third means having associated therewith a restrainingmeans operable just prior to ejecting articles off said third means fortemporarily restraining the articleson said third means whereby thearticles on said third and second means tend to pile upon each other ingreater overlapping relation with respect to each other than when saidrestraining means is inoperative whereby an unbroken line of overlappingarticles is maintained from a supplying position to a position at whicha group of articles is ejected, and ejecting means for ejecting a groupof articles at the forward end of the series while the articles aretemporarily restrained on said third element. 40 30. In a conveyingmechanism for wrapping machines for conveying articles from a? supplyposition to an ejecting position at which a group of articles is ejectedfrom a series thereof, the combination with means for receiving articlesin overlapping relation with respect to each other and moving them to anejecting position, there being means associated therewith for normallyspreading the articles over a greater distance in the path of travelthereof for the same number of articles at a 'succeeding'position in thepath of travel of said articles, and means for assembling the articlesso that their supporting edges lie closer together just prior toejecting position while still maintaining the articles in overlappingrelation with each other, and means for temporarily restraining theforwardend of the series of articles being fed to the ejecting positionwhereby the articles pileupon each other and arrange themselves inperpendicular relation with respect to the supporting surface upon whichthey are arranged and in parallel relation with respect to each other,this action being .carried backwardly to the series of articles wherebythe overlapping relation of the articles at predeterminedpositions isvaried from the normal.

31. In a conveying mechanism for conveying articles from a supplyposition to an ejecting position, the combinationwith a series of threeconveyers arranged in tandem relation with respect to each other, thesaid conveyers being actuated i at progressively greater speeds from thefirst conveyer to the third conveyer, said first conveyer being adaptedto receive thin wafer-like articles in overlapping relation with respectto each other the same direction, and means associated with said thirdconveyer for temporarily restraining the articles at an ejectingposition whereby the 'articles in the entire series are held backsomewhat and the overlapping relation of the articles atvarious'positions in the path of travel being thereby changed, saidrestraining means being rendered inoperative to prevent forward movementof the forward end of the series of articles after a group of saidarticles has been ejected from said third conveyer, the intermediateconveyer acting as an expansion means whereby the a continuity of theline ofarticles remains unbroken while maintaining the necessary supplyof articles to the third conveyer. I

32. A means for transferring a group of thin wafer-like articlesarranged in parallel relation with eachother while supported on theirnarrow e edges on a conveyer comprising means for moving a series ofarticles into a position to be transferred, a movable abutment forreceiving the transferred to a receiving means.

forward article of a series while the same is lying in a substantiallyhorizontal position and mov said article to a substantially verticalposition and maintaining itin that position to restrain the remainingarticles and hold them in a position to be transferred, and atransferring device movable transversely to the line of articles againsttheir narrow edges, and means for maintaining the articles-in abuttingrelation with respect to each other while being transferred.

33. A means for transferring a group of thin wafer-like articlesarranged in parallel relation with each other while supported on theirnarrow edges on a conveyer, comprising means for moving a series ofarticles into a position to be transferred, a movable abutment forreceiving the forward article of a series while the'same is lying in asubstantially horizontal position and moving said article to asubstantially vertical position and maintaining it in that position torestrain the remaining articles and hold them in a position to betransferred, a transferring device movable transversely to the line ofarticles against their.

narrow edges, and means for maintaining the articles in abuttingrelation with respect to each other while being transferred, comprisinga strip per plate adapted to move the first article in the series whichis not in the group in a directionand for maintaining agroup thereof inassembled relation after they are transferred, and a transferring meanscomprising a member having a rigid face for engaging the articles andan' extension of said rigid face movable to change the over-all lengthof the article engaging portion of said transferring means, and meansfor maintaining said extension in retracted position until saidtransferring means begins to move saidarticles "as a group to saidreceiving means.

35. In a wrapping machine, the combination with an endless conveyer forconveying thin wafer-like articles on edge along a predetermined path, atransfer device for transferring'agroup articles after the transferringmeans moves into group is being while supported on their narrow edges,the supportingsurfaces of said conveyers all moving in of' contactsurfaces" movable relative to each other in the direction of the line ofarticles but '5 normally held in position closely adjacent each otherprior torengaging the articles, and means for moving 'said contactsurfaces relatively to each other in the direction ,of the line'of said10 engagement with the group of articles to be transferred, whereby theover-all length of the surface engaging the articles is increased. 36. Adevice as claimed in claim 35 which ineludes in addition a stripper forseparating the last of the articles in the group to be transferred andthe next article in the series temporarily so as not to interfere withthe transferring movement but having a surface thereon movable intoengagement with the end-most ar- 20 ticle of the group being transferredto maintain.- said group in assembled relation with the other articlesin the group while the same are being transferred.

37. An ejector for ejecting a group of thin a rwith the article engagingsurface on said first piate, means for holding said surfaces 'in closevco-planer relation with respect to each other before the articles areejected from said line of articles, and means for moving said surfacesrelative to each other while substantially maintaining the co-planerrelation wi'th respect to each other after said ejector beginsthe-ejecting movement of said articles'from said line of articles. 0

38. An ejector forejecting a groupof thin articles from a line of said,articles to a receiving means comprising a contact plate movabletransversely to the line of articles for engaging a predetermined numberof said articles, and a plate movably mounted on said first plate havinga surface thereof in substantially parallel relation ing movement ofsaid articles from said line of upright position on said conveyer priorto being I removed therefrom.

40. In a wrapping *machine, a conveyer for feeding thin articles ininclined overlapping rela- -tion arranged on edge on said conveyer,means for periodically removing a section of said articles from theseries at the forward end of said series on said conveyer, and means formoving said articles to a vertical position just prior to removal of asection of articles therefrom.

41. In a wrapping machine, a conveyer for feeding aline of thin articlesdisposed on edge on said conveyer, a plunger for transferring a sectionof articles from said line by movement transverse to the direction ofmovement of said conveyer, said plunger having an over-all length ofautomatically variable amounts, and means for automatically increasingthe over-all length of said plunger after the same begins to move theselected group of articles 01! said conveyer.

42. In a wrapping machine, an intermittently operating conveyer fordelivering articles to said machine, a periodically operating device forremoving articles from said conveyer, a continu-' ously operatingconveyer for delivering articles to said intermittently operatingconveyer, said continuously operating conveyer having a speed ofmovement suflicientto deliver articles, to said intermittently operatingconveyer at a greater rate than they are removed therefrom by saidremoving device, and means for temporarily restraining articles on saidintermittently operating conveyer when said intermittently operatingconveyer has received at the transfer position a suiiicient number ofarticles for transfer purposes."

43. In a wrapping machine, an intermittently operating conveyerfor-delivering a line of articles to said machine, a device arranged tooperate in timed relation to the movement of said conveyer for removingarticles from said conveyer, a continuously operating conveyer forsupplying articles to said intermittently operating conveyer, anintermediate conveyer for transferring articles from said continuouslyoperating conveyerto said intermittently operating conveyer at a greaterrate of speed than the same can be-transferred by said intermittentconveyer, and means for restraining the feed or articles on saidintermittently operating conveyer aftersaid v.

intermittently operating conveyer has received the desired number ofarticles adjacent the transferposition.

. ve yer, said eonflnuously 44. m a wrapping machine, an intermittently.

-. operating conveyer, a device arranged to operate in timed relation tothe movement of said conveyer for periodically removing .av plurality offrom said con- ,iifiga'speed mmcienttosupplyarticles slightlyeaseuoftheriumberremovedbysaidremoving means forpreventingsany thearticles on said'intermittently operating conveyer which arenotenmbysaiddevice for sting transfer device, of an intermittently W9 transferdevice in abutting relation with each other, a continuously operatingconveyer, an intermediate conveyer for transferring articles from saidcontinuously operating conveyer to said intermittently operatingconveyer, sa d intermediate conveyer having a speed of travel greaterthan that of said continuously operating conveyer, and moving at a speedin excess of that necessary to supply said intermittently, operatingconveyer with the necessary number of articles in abutting relation witheach other, and' means for restraining the normal rate of feedof saidarticles from said second conveyer to said intermittently operatingconveyer after said intermittently operating conveyer is supplied ad- 15'jacent the transferring position with a sufficientarticle engaging facethereof to thereby decrease and increase respectively the over-alllength of the plunger in the said direction of relative movement of saidmembers, and means for moving said members to increase the overalllength, of said plunger after the articles to be removed have beendisplaced relative to the other articles of said line. i5

47. The combination with a conveyer for conveying relatively flatarticles in various positions thereon along a given path of travel, ofan ejector member'having an ejecting facesubstantially equal to thethickness of the articles for ejecting 2 from said conveyer articleswhich are disposed thereon-in flat position, said ejector member beinginoperative to eject from the conveyer articles which are disposedthereon at any inclination with respect thereto. I a

- 48. In combination, a pair of belt conveyers arranged end toend forconveying articles along a path of travel, and a plate arranged betweensaidconveyers, said plate having an edge arranged at 'an angle to saidpath of travel for engaging and discharging articles which are in oneposition on the first of said conveyors and for guiding articles whichare in another position thereon from said first conveyer onto the secondconveyer.

' ejecting from said conveyer an article which does not overlap itsimmediately preceding article and a guide portion arranged to guide afollowing non-ejected article along a path spaced from the v y r in 6199 8 relation with a preced- I ing article. MICHAEL J. MIL-MOI.

